Baby Craves...

In this post, I talked about what I craved when I was pregnant with Evie. So far, my cravings patterns are fairly close to what they were with her, but there are some interesting differences.

With Evie:
Chinese--my first craving was for Mongolian Grill.
Mexican--I was craving red burritos from Los Hermanos.
Pizza--Evie didn't like pizza, and would make me sick or throw up every time I ate any brand of it.
McDonald's--I practically lived on chicken McNuggets.
Sandwiches--I also lived on grilled cheese sandwiches.
Cereal--All I wanted for breakfast (and to snack on) was Froot Loops

Sweets--I wanted gooey caramel popcorn and warm fudgy brownies.


Right Now:
Chinese--my first craving was for sesame chicken and beef lo mein.
Mexican--I really want chicken enchiladas right now.
Pizza--I want pizza all the time now, although certain brands still make me sick.
McDonald's--This baby doesn't like anything by McDonalds. Or Burger King, for that matter.
Sandwiches--Grilled cheese doesn't sound good anymore, but I really want grilled tuna sandwiches.
Cereal--All I want for breakfast (and to snack on) is Honeycomb.
Sweets--I still want gooey caramel popcorn, but instead of brownies I want chocolate covered pretzels.

The power of suggestion is especially strong for me right now. If I'm watching a show and the characters eat spaghetti, I immediately want spaghetti. If I see an advertisement for berry smoothies, then berry smoothies immediately sound really good. (Dang it. Now I really want a berry smoothie!) It helps that I never get morning sickness and my appetite never really goes away when I'm pregnant. For me, both times, I got about 5 migraines in the first trimester, but they went away before the second trimester started. That's it! The rest of pregnancy is pretty smooth sailing. The only weird thing I've noticed with this baby is that, while food looks and sounds amazing, I simply don't have the room in my tummy to eat all I want to, but that's probably just because my uterus is getting a jump-start on growing.
My typical prepregnancy weight is right around 125/130. With Evie, I dropped just a couple of pounds right at the beginning of the first trimester, but I gained what I was supposed to by the time I had Evie. This time, I'm a little more concerned, because at my first appointment I weighed in at 119. That was after almost 3 months of pregnancy, and I haven't been that small since middle school! I'm trying to see the good in the situation, though. At least this means that I don't have a problem losing the baby weight. And it also means that I don't feel guilty lusting after all of the munchies that jump out at me. Bring on the caramel popcorn! And I really do want a berry smoothie now...

Lonely Mommy

The loneliness that I've been feeling for months is hitting me hard today. I'm 22 years old, I'm married to the love of my life, I have a beautiful 10-month-old daughter, and I'm pregnant with my second child. Even in Utah, where it is common to start a family at a younger age than most other places, I didn't know very many people my age who were in my same situation in life. Here in Colorado, they're practically nonexistent.
I got married when I was 19, and most of the other newlywed brides I knew were at least a couple of years older than I was. Then I got pregnant with Evie, and the age gap between me and other new mommies widened that much more. Now, I'm expecting another precious addition to our family, and I only have two friends close to my age who are going through similar situations, and they both live out of state. One of my best friends from high school, Becca, lives in Idaho and has two adorable little girls that are about as far apart in age as my babies will be, but I haven't seen her since my wedding and I've never met her daughters. One of my college roommates, Lindsay, is expecting her second little girl in just a few more months, and she's the one friend I miss the most. We haven't seen each other since Todd and I moved from Utah to Colorado in July. We still chat online and on the phone, but it just isn't the same. Sometimes, I just need some girl time with someone who understands exactly what I'm going through, and I don't have that opportunity here, even at church. Everyone my age is either still single, or is a newlywed. Everyone who has two or more babies is close to 10 years older than I am.
Overall, my life is very happy, and I'm so blessed to be Mommy to my two little ones! I just get lonely sometimes, and wish I had a girl friend close by that I could just spend some time with. Someone with whom I could grab some ice cream and gossip about our babies/church/work/whatever else comes to mind. Someone to give me a hug and some understanding when I need it. Right now, I feel like Mr. Rogers, pleading, "Will YOU be my neighbor?"

Looking Forward

Right now, I'm feeling an overwhelming surge of anticipation and joy at the thought of getting to meet our new baby. We're not even halfway along yet, and don't even know what we're having, but I'm already excited to experience the miracle of that moment when I get to see and hold my beautiful baby for the first time after so many months of waiting. Just the thought of giving birth to the new addition to the Jacobs family is making me melt inside, and that moisture is leaking out through my eyes. I love being a Mommy so much, and I feel so blessed that I've been given the privilege of getting to raise some of Heavenly Father's choicest angels. I love both of my children more than I ever thought was possible!

Nursing Yummies

A month or so ago, I came across a website that mentioned pumpkin lactation cookies. Intrigued, I clicked on the link and found this recipe. Don't those just look and sound super yummy? I have to say, I'm really excited to try these cookies in a couple of months! My favorite cookies are pumpkin chocolate chip anyway. Also, I had a really hard time keeping my milk supply up with Evie, and it can't hurt to try such a fun, easy, and yummy-sounding idea to help me nurse my baby longer. Worst case scenario: the cookies don't actually help increase my milk supply, but I've still found another yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe to make.
Personally, I don't like nuts, so I'm going to try and make the cookies without them. I'll be sure to post about our reaction to them, but it'll have to wait quite a while until after this baby is born and I'm feeling ready to do some cooking again. Also, it will be a fun adventure looking for flaxseed meal and brewer's yeast--does anyone have any suggestions? Enjoy!

If the link above somehow doesn't work, go to this website for the recipe:
http://www.whyclothdiaper.com/2011/09/04/pumpkin-nut-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-lactation-cookies/
Also, I've copy/pasted the whole thing below in bold print.


Yes, you heard me. PUMPKIN LACTATION COOKIES. If you haven’t ruined your keyboard with drool, read on and be prepared to bake up the most life changing lactation cookie you’ll ever taste. I’m anxious for fall and this cookie is perfect.
DISCLAIMER: This recipe was inspired by a friend’s awesome pumpkin cookie recipe and a standard lactation cookie recipe, then edited, tweaked, and crafted by yours truly. Please only share respectfully and give credit where it is due. I would love for you to share this with your friends, but please do not pass it off as your own. Additionally, you may have seen this recipe on The Ginger Kid’s blog, which is also my blog; however, is no longer in use. So please do not think that this recipe has been stolen. Enjoy!
I am a big fan of lactation cookies. They’re delicious, and for me, they’ve worked the best at maintaining my supply! Well, it’s fall time and I took the traditional Lactation Cookie recipe and added some fall flavor! This recipe is a tweaked version of a pumpkin cookie recipe that was given to me by a friend. When she gave it to me, I just couldn’t justify making cookies that weren’t going to be alternatively beneficial to me! You can use other types of ingredients in here, but I’m posting the recipe the way that I make it. For instance, you can choose all-purpose flour if you wish to, etc. You can even substitute the butter for 1 1/2 c. of unsweetened applesauce if you’d like! Additionally, if you don’t feel particularly like lactation, take out the brewer’s yeast and flax seed; although, they’re very healthy for you even if you’re not nursing! And yes, men can eat these without producing milk! Just don’t tell him what they are. Be sneaky!
Ingredients that you cannot substitute: Oats, brewer’s yeast, flax seed meal.

Pumpkin Nut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies!

Ingredents:

• 4 c. whole wheat flour
• 3 c. old-fashioned oats (uncooked)
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 c. unsalted butter (softened)
• 2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
• 4 tbsp. water
• 1 tbsp. flaxseed meal
• 2-4 tbsp. brewer’s yeast
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 16oz. can of pumpkin
• 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl combine the water and the flaxseed meal; let sit for 5 minutes.
3. In one bowl, combine flour, baking soda, yeast, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy.
5. Slowly beat in the sugars.
6. Add vanilla, egg, and flaxseed mixture. Beat until smooth.
7. Add pumpkin and mix well.
8. Slowly add your dry ingredients and beat until well mixed.
9. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and nuts. (Tip: I use my hands in order to get the oats completely covered. If they’re not covered, your cookies will have dry, flaky, uncooked oats in them.)
10. Place dough in 1.5 inch lumps, 1-2 inches apart, with a medium scoop. You can use a spoon, but the scoop makes awesome looking cookies!
11. Bake for 13-15 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet.
12. Remove from oven and transfer from cookie sheet immediately to a cooling rack.

Yields 6 Dozen.
If you get a chance to make these – please let me know what you think! And don’t be surprised if your non-boobie-feeding friends steal them while they’re at your house!

A Happy New Year

The year 2011 held many blessings for our little family:

• Our beautiful Evie girl was born in March, bringing her sweet little spirit into our lives and allowing us to get a taste of what Heaven is like.
• Todd's family kindly offered us a place to live when we moved to Colorado.
• After looking and praying for quite a while, Todd and I were both offered jobs within a week of each other so we could pay our bills.
• We found out that our prayers for another precious baby to join our family were immediately answered.
• Despite the scary news that my dad has cancer, we've since been informed that everything will be okay and he will make a full recovery from his surgery.
• Todd was offered a full-time position at Dish Network with even better pay than he asked for and health benefits for our family.
• We got to celebrate Evie's first Christmas as a family, and were able to afford presents for everyone this year.

These may seem like little things to everyone else, but they have been huge to us! The year 2012 already promises more great things for our family, and I hope to be able to fulfill all of these resolutions in the coming months:

• Have a great pregnancy and deliver another healthy baby in early July
• Find the perfect lullaby for that second baby
• Sing songs and hymns to my babies daily
• Read stories to my babies daily 
• Finish Evie's baby book, and start on the next one
• Read the Book of Mormon to my babies, and finish by the end of the year
• Spend time reading good books that I enjoy instead of watching so much TV
• Have more deep and meaningful conversations with my husband 
• Clean one area of my living space every day
• Learn as much about my work as I possibly can before going on maternity leave
• Refrain from evil speaking about other people
• Sincerely forgive those who have hurt me
• Accomplish 100% visiting teaching for the year

My goals are mainly focused on becoming a better wife, a better mommy, and a better person. I want to teach my children how to be loving, intelligent, spiritual, organized, musical, and interesting people, and right now I have to teach by example. That means that I have to work on being more loving, intelligent, spiritual, organized, musical, and interesting! I'm sure that there will be days when I fall short of what I hoped for, but I'm also sure that these goals are attainable and that I can be a new and improved woman by the end of this year. In the meantime, I wish you all a very happy new year!

A Fun Little Tip

Last night, Mom shared with me a really great tip that she used to get me to "nap" when I was about 3 years old. She says that, rather than struggle with me to get me to sleep every afternoon, she decided that it wasn't worth the effort. Instead, she got down on my level and said, "Jessie, I know you're not sleepy, but it's time for your nap. I'll bet that if you go into your room, close the door, and play quietly with your toys, I'll think you're asleep. I'll bet that you could trick me!" She says that I caught onto that really quickly, and I'd go into my room, close the door, and just play and play until I would finally fall over, asleep. I think that's a really great tip to try! Right now, Evie hates naptime because she's afraid of missing anything and she wants to play all the time. So we give her a bottle and put her to bed so she can drink herself into a sleepy stupor. (I know, I know: her teeth are going to rot out of her head. Shame on Mommy!) It really works for us, though. At least for right now, until we can reason with her a little more. When she's older, I'm going to try and use Mom's tip to see if I can get Evie to "trick" me into thinking she's napping. It's worth a try, anyway, because it'll save more energy than wrestling her into her bed to take a nap every afternoon. I'm also going to try asking her if she wants to nap with Mommy sometimes. That way, it'll seem fun for her, and I'll get a chance to take a nap myself! These seem like genius ideas to me, and I can't wait to try them out on my babies.

First Flight

On New Year's Eve, Todd drove Evie and me to the airport, kissed his girls goodbye, and sent us to spend a week in Idaho Falls with my family. He wasn't able to come because he just started his great new job a couple of weeks ago and has no time off saved up yet. Honestly, I was so scared to do this, because I've never been on a plane by myself before, let alone with a baby, and I was secretly terrified that I was going to get so lost that I was somehow going to end up in Argentina, getting kidnapped by Colombian drug dealers along the way, of course (it occurs to me that I may watch too many action movies). For the most part, though, Evie was great! We were in and out of security in about 10 minutes, thanks to the help of the very kind TSA officer; I had Evie strapped to my chest, so he helped put all of my things on the conveyor belt, watched as I walked through the metal detector, and met me on the other side to check my hands for explosives residue. After that, it was fairly easy to find our gate: just a quick trip on the train to concourse B, a ride up the elevator (there was no way I was risking riding on the escalator!), and a jaunt across the moving sidewalks.
Evie was impressed by all of the bright lights and lines of people. She smiled at everybody and tried her darndest to flirt with the gentleman sitting behind us, but her wiles were no match for the book he was reading. She managed to charm the gate lady, though, from 20 feet away! The lady kept coming over to smile at Evie and let her touch her long red fingernails, her curly weave, and her jeweled name lanyard. It was a good thing the lady was so nice and distracting, because after 2 hours of sitting at the gate, Evie started to get bored. She really needed her morning nap, but I couldn't take her out of the carrier until we were on the plane. Fortunately for me, that nice lady told me that since it was the holiday season and the plane was only half full, I could take Evie's car seat on with me instead of gate-checking it so that Evie could nap during the flight. She'd already moved me to the other side of the plane because my original side didn't have enough oxygen masks to accomodate an infant-in-lap, and I was now back one row so that I could have the empty seat next to me for Evie's car seat. I was so grateful for such a kind offer!
Our plane was a half hour late coming in because of the wind and when I finally got on the plane, I got moved again because my new seat was on the row in front of the emergency exit, and babies apparently aren't allowed to sit there. So I was moved from 5B to 6D (and C) and then to 4D (and C). We were seventh in line to take off, and Evie was not thrilled about just sitting there. What she really needed was a little bottle and a nap, but I wasn't allowed out of my seat to get the water for her bottle, so I fed her little puffs to keep her from screaming and annoying all of the other passengers. Take-off was a little scary. We hit turbulence as we ascended, and my stomach kept jolting. Evie started crying, and I could tell that her tummy wasn't happy either.
Just as we broke through the clouds and the flight evened out, Evie looked at me, blinked, opened her eyes halfway, and fell asleep. She stayed asleep for the entire flight. I drank 16 ounces of ginger ale, and finished just in time to land. Landing was much smoother than taking off, partly because I closed the window so I couldn't see when exactly we were about to touch down and psych myself out. Evie woke up while we were pulling up to the gate, and she stayed happy while we waited for all of the other passengers to deplane before getting all of our stuff together. One of the pilots herself came to help me, which was very nice of her, and I got into the terminal and saw my mom waiting on the other side of the doors. Evie was slipping out of my arm, so I hurried across the terminal and the doors opened just in time for my mom to catch Evie before she slipped out completely. There were hugs and kisses all around, and then we drove home to celebrate New Years Eve. My sister and brother both had parties to go to, but we've been having a good time ever since. My dad gets home late Tuesday night, so Wednesday is our family Christmas. We're going to exchange presents, eat a big dinner, and just enjoy each other's company. We're so excited to see my dad, and I know that he's very excited to see Evie; the last time he saw her was early in May when he helped bless her (see this post). We miss Todd, but Evie and I call him every night to tell him what we've been doing and that we love him. I told him that next year, whether he has official time off or not, he's coming with me because I'm not going through the airport alone with TWO babies! :) Other than missing the Daddy, though, Evie and I are sure enjoying this week!